Pause
by fakeditfromthewordgo
Summary: '"This would have been much easier," Isabelle says, sounding thoroughly unimpressed, "on your roof."' 4am sunrises, Simon/Isabelle.


The text wakes Simon up, in the middle of the morning. It takes him a few disorientated seconds, and multiple blinks, until he realises he's fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room. Groaning, he disentangles his arms, which were thrown around the cushions, pulling a face as he stretches and places he didn't even know existed cracked in protest. He rubs at his eyes blearily, and reaches for his phone.

_All good. :9_

Despite the time, Simon can't help but smile; his girlfriend hasn't quite gotten the hang of texting yet, and emoticons seem to be beyond her grasp. Just as he goes to type a reply, another one comes through.

_:) even. Shut up._

Not that Isabelle, of course, will ever let anything get the better of her. Rolling his eyes, Simon taps out a few words, before running to the kitchen, and putting the kettle on.

The air outside is cool, but the kind of fresh that hinted at the autumn to come, dark, but light enough that even without his vampire eyesight, Simon would've known where he was going. Coffee flask clutched in one hand, he wonders for the first time if this is maybe just a little bit too farfetched, especially since Isabelle is bound to be on a high from the demon hunt they've just returned from. Shaking his head, he convinces himself he's being ridiculous, and quickens his stride towards the Institute.

Once there, instead of heading inside, he swings up onto one of the window ledges, and slowly, repeating this action, makes his way up to the roof. He would never been able to do this as a human, he muses as he grabs onto a roof panel that was sticking out slightly. Before he can push himself up, a hand grabs his, and pulls him easily on the roof, and against a tall, slender body.

"This would have been much easier," Isabelle says, sounding thoroughly unimpressed, "on your roof."

He grins, pressing a kiss against her cheek before rolling out the blanket he'd tucked under his arm at the last minute. "You're a Shadowhunter, where's your sense of adventure?"

"Not up here, evidently," she replies, rolling her eyes. Simon gestures for her to sit beside him, and though not without a long-suffering sigh, she joins him. He pours her a cup of coffee, and she laughs. "This is ridiculous."

"It's quite nice, actually," he says, and she laughs again, cutting him off.

"Not the coffee," she elbows him lightly, taking a sip. "All of this."

Simon looks at her, watches as her eyes scan the lightening horizon, taking the dark bags underneath, the way she leans on him just a little. "You're right, you're tired, and-"

"_Simon,_" she shakes her head, smiling at him. "You're a vampire, where's your sense of adventure?"

Unable to hide a smile, he wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. They sit in a comfortable silence for a while, just resting against each other, before Simon pulled back again. "Are you _sure_ you're-"

"Shut _up_." She nestled closer, pressing her cheek against his neck, pointing out to the sky. "Look."

Simon follows her finger, looking out to where the horizon is slowly but steadily turning a bright, blazing orange, smudged with baby pink. It's breathtaking, but he can't help but let his eyes trail back to the girl sat next to him. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, sarcastic comments, maybe a flippant remark, but Isabelle staring, wide-eyed, mouth slightly agape, was not it. She's dropped the flask to the side in favour of paying full attention as the colours paint the sky, and usually Simon would be the first to grab at it, berate the careless idiot who left it, but he can't bring himself to care.

Her eyes are sparkling as she watches, the gold flecks more prominent than ever, and her long, dark hair is still, rippling backwards gently occasionally like the wind's stroking it. It strikes him that this is one of the only times he's ever seen Izzy completely still, relaxed, other than when she's half-asleep in his arms. Her life was so non-stop, so relentlessly fast-paced, that she'd never watched the sun rise before, not like this.

"Stop staring at me," she says, not taking her eyes off the skyline, and Simon grins, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "_What_?" He chuckles at her indignant tone, and when she finally turns towards him, leaning away and eyes narrowed with no real venom behind the glare, he presses a kiss to her lips before she can shout at him any more.

"I love you," he says, and while it's far from the first time he's said it, he wonders why the sun even bothered to come up this morning when Isabelle could light up the skies with that smile. He then muses when Eric's awful poetry started infecting him, but he didn't have too long to wonder because Isabelle was kissing him, one hand tangled in his messy, dark curls, pulling him closer.

"You'll do, I suppose," she smiles against his mouth, and he pulls back, frowning.

"I'll push you off," he threatens, but it's empty, and she knows, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him in again.

"And you'll cushion my fall," she promises, and they both laugh, faces so close that their noses touch. Simon is the first to pull back, kissing her jaw lightly, breathing her in- "Stop _smelling_ me."

"You're ruining the moment," he laughs against her neck, flushing slightly.

"What moment?" she murmurs, pushing his head back lightly, but only so she could kiss him again, lightly. All the fight is gone, sarcastic or otherwise, and she collapses back against Simon's chest, yawning. He threatens to leave her up there if she falls asleep, but they both know he won't, so she just hugs him tighter, not bothering to reply. They stay even after the sun is high in the sky, entangled in one another happily, relishing the momentary stillness.


End file.
